Keith Stueve, of Deer Creek, was among 24 students who were awarded a master’s degree in physician assistant studies from Northwestern College during commencement ceremonies on August 11.

Marty Guthmiller, a 1982 Northwestern College graduate who is CEO of Orange City (Iowa) Area Health System, gave the commencement address.

Stueve was a member of the first cohort of students in Northwestern’s 27-month graduate program. Students learned evidence-based medicine and developed the skills needed to work on health care teams in diverse settings, including primary care and family medicine, emergency medicine, surgery, psychiatry and sub-specialty areas. The faith-based program included four terms of face-to-face training followed by three terms of clinical rotations with concurrent online courses designed to facilitate the integration of classroom material with clinical experiences.

Northwestern College is a Christian college of more than 1,600 students in Orange City, Iowa. Rated a top-10 Midwestern college by U.S. News & World Report magazine, Northwestern provides an education committed to standout academics and a Christ-centered worldview. Northwestern offers more than 135 programs, including bachelor’s degrees, online master’s degrees in education and counseling, and the on-site master’s degree program in physician assistant studies.